Life-saving belt.



A. H. KLINT.

LIFE SAVING BELT.

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 2, 1910 Patented Jul) 25, 1911.

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COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH C0" WASHINmN, D. C.

ANTON H. KLINT, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

LIFE-SAVING- BELT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 2, 1910.

Patented July 25, 1911.

Serial No. 575,145.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANTON H. KLINT, citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Saving Belts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to life preservers, and particularly to that type of life preserver consisting of a belt or body portion adapted to be clasped around the body of the wearer and containing buoyant sections whereby the wearer is supported in the Water.

The object of my invention is to provide a very simple and elfective form of life saving belt so constructed that it is expansible so as to suit persons of varying sizes, and collapsible so as to fold into small compass, and easily packed away.

A further object is to provide a belt of this character having a plurality of air cells, any one of which may be punctured without destroying the buoyant properties of the belt as a whole.

A still further object is to provide a casing adapted to contain air, closed at its upper portion, and open at its lower portion. and so braced interiorly, that the easing will remain expanded so as to contain air when placed around the body of the wearer, the openings at the lower edge of the belt or body portion, permitting air to enter the interior of the casing and dry it out, thus eliminating the rotting of the fabric which is very liable to occur and permitting the life preserver to be easily inspected and kept in repair.

With these and other objects in view as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the inven tion, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved life preserver expanded. Fig. 2 is a view of the life preserver closed. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the outer casing. Fig. l is a horizontal section therethrough.

Corresponding and like parts are re ferred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to these figures, it will be seen that my life preserver consists of an outer case 2 of water-proof fabric closed at the top by a piece 3 stitched to the sides of the case as at 4:, the case being open at the bottom. In actual practice, the case will be about 36 long, about 12 high, and 2" thick.

The interior of the case is divided into a plurality of air cells 5 by a plurality of internal partitions 6 formed preferably of wooden slats disposed in zig Zag arrangement and attached to the case as will be hereinafter described. The pockets formed between these slats it will be seen are closed at the top by the piece 3, and are open at the bottom. Broadly speaking, these partitions formed by the slats 6 are each hinged at opposite edges to each other and hinged alternately to the outside and inside walls of the case 2 so that the slats forming the partitions may be folded one against the other as shown in Fig. 2 and may be opened out so that they will have the zig zag arrangement before referred to and shown in Fig. l.

Preferably, the construction above referred to is secured by inclosing the wooden slats 6 in a casing 7 of fabric as shown in Fig. d, and stitching the case together between each slat thus dividing the entire case 7 into a plurality of vertically extending pockets, each containing one of the partitions or slats 7 and closely fitting the same. This inner case is preferably waterproof and may be made of the same ma terial as the outer case. In order to provide for a hinged connection of the slats and walls of the outer case 2, the inner case is stitched between each two slats alternately to the opposite walls of the outer case. It will be seen that this construction permits the slats to be folded into any position, while they will lie against and parallel to each other, the outer case folding between each pair of slats. In this condition, the body of the life preserver occupies but small space. This construction, however, permits the body of the life preserver to be opened out, or expanded so as to fit either an ordinary sized person, or a very stout person as necessity may require, the air contained within the air cells 5 acting to force the fabric of the outer case away from the slats so that the cells shall contain the maximum quantity of air.

It will be observed that the partitions formed by the slats 7 not only act to divide the interior of the case into a plurality of air containing cells, but that even if these slats were not solid and not contained within an inner waterproof case, yet they would keep the walls of the outer case expanded so that the outer case would contain sufficient air to make it buoyant.

Shoulder straps 9 are attached to the body portion in any suitable manner and preferably so as to button at one end, thus permitting them to be readily passed over the shoulders of the wearer. The body portion is also provided with tabs 10 whereby the body portion may be buttoned or otherwise fastened around the body of the wearer. In detail, the outer case as shown in Fig. 1, is stitched together at the ends as at 11 so as to form a pocket 12 inclosing a reinforce 13. This is the construction at both ends of the body portion. To this reinforce 13 are attached the tabs 10 and 10, the tabs 10 being each provided with a plurality of buttons and being preferably of elastic, while the tabs 10 are formed with a plurality of button-holes adapted to engage with the buttons on the tabs 10. Preferably, there are three of these tabs on each end of the body portion of the life preserver, although of course, I do not care to limit myself to the location of these tabs or their exact form. The shoulder straps 9 are preferably attached at one end to the reinforced ends of the body portion and the end of each shoulder strap is formed with a button-hole lt for engagement with a but ton 15 on an elastic loop 16 which in turn is engaged by a loop 17 formed on the upper end of the body portion of the life preserver. The material of the loop 16 is continued downward and is stitched at its lower end to the lower edge of the outer case, thus providing a vertically extending loop of material 17 by which others may cling to the life preserver.

The particular features of my invention are first that it is open at its lower end so that it will thoroughly dry out and so that the material of the preserver may be inspected; second that it is expansible and collapsible so as to fit persons of different size, and so as to be folded up into relatively small compass, and third that it is provided with a plurality of air cells thus permitting the preserver to be punctured at a number of places without entirely destroying its efficacy.

IVhile I have shown what I consider to be the best form of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the details of construction inasmuch as these may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A life preserver, comprising a case of flexible waterproof material, said case having an inner and outer wall, and being closed at the top and open at the bottom, and a plurality of rigid partitions attached at their edges to the outer and inner walls of the case and dividing the case into a plurality of air containing cells, said partitions being fold able one against the other.

2. A life preserver including a case of flexible waterproof material, having an outer and inner wall,esaid case being closed at the top and open at the bottom, the interior of the case being divided into a plurality of air containing cells by a series of partitions, said partitions being hingedly connected to each other at their edges, and hingedly connected alternately to the outer and inner walls of the case.

3. A life preserver including a case of flexible waterproof material, having an inner and outer wall, said case being open at the bottom and closed at the top, the interior of the case being divided into a plurality of air containing cells by a series of vertically extending rigid partitions, said partitions being inclosed in an inner case of flexible material, said inner case being stitched between the partitions alternately to the inside and the outside walls of the outer case.

4. A-life preserver, comprising an outer case .of flexible and waterproof material, said outer case having an inner and outer wall and being closed at the top and a plurality of slats forming partition walls, and disposed within the outer case and an inner case within which the slats are carried, said inner case being stitched between each two slats alternately to the outer and the inner walls of the outer case.

5. A life preserver comprising an outer case preferably of waterproof material, said case being open at the bottom and closed at the top, a plurality of slats disposed in the case and dividing it into a plurality of air containing chambers, said slats being hingedly connected to each other and alternately to the inside and outside Walls of the case, In testimony whereof, I afllx my signature shoulder straps attached to the upper end of in presence of two Witnesses. the case, buttons to Which the free ends of ANTON H KLINT [LS] the shoulder straps are attachable and means on the ends of the life preserver whereby it Witnesses:

may be held clasped around the body of the HARRY L. HORN, wearer. M. O. KLINT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

